In 2008 Slovenia was the first new EU member state to host the 6-monthly rotating EU Presidency. The British Council, in partnership with the Diplomatic Academy of Vienna, was able to help them respond to this challenge by providing a focused, high quality English language training course: "English for the EU Presidency". 

Client, stakeholders, partners

• The Government of Slovenia
• The Diplomatic Academy of Vienna
• The UK Permanent Representation to the European Union (EU)
• The English for the EU Presidency project

The project
In 2008 Slovenia was the first new EU member state to host the 6-monthly rotating EU Presidency. The British Council, in partnership with the Diplomatic Academy of Vienna, was able to help them respond to this challenge by providing a focused, high quality English language training course: "English for the EU Presidency". The course content was defined by the Diplomatic Academy and the Slovenian Training Ministry.

The programme aimed to help prepare the Slovenian government for the linguistic challenges they would face, for example of running European Council working group meetings and writing papers for their presidency, in English. It consisted of 35 five-day seminars, delivered in Slovenia and Brussels by a high level team of teachers managed by the British Council.

The course covered the English language communication skills that Slovenian officials would need in a range of situations, for example as chairs and participants in meetings, as desk officers, support staff, and national delegates at the ministries in Slovenia and the Permanent Representation of Slovenia to the Council of the European Union. It included areas such as:

• EU terminology: how to discuss topics such as the EU treaties, the three pillars, main institutions and agencies, and the main EU decision making processes.
• Meetings and negotiations: developing standpoints and proposals; speaking skills required for meetings, discussions and negotiations in the margins. 
• Presentations and discussions on EU matters 
• Writing reports, for example of meetings; position papers; press releases
• Chairing working group meetings and negotiations.

Approximately 380 officials completed the training, which was highly appreciated by participants for its pragmatic and results-oriented approach.

What the stakeholders say
"While briefing me on their enlargement plans, the Slovenes were waxing lyrical on what a great job the British Council had done in giving them practical, insightful training for their Presidency. Both in Ljubljana and Brussels it had been exceptionally good, had really given them a sense of what they needed to do to solve the problems they would inevitably confront." The UK EU Representative in Brussels.

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